The secretive Church of England committee chosing the next Archbishop of
Canterbury has signalled that it has yet to reach a decision after three
days of discussions.

The Crown Nominations Commission, said that its “prayerful” work of “discerning” who should be the next leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans would “continue”.

In an attempt to quell speculation about the identity of Rowan Williams’s successor, the 16-member commission issued a brief communiqué saying only that a decision would be announced during the autumn.

The group, chaired by the former Tory minister Lord Luce, has been meeting behind closed doors since Wednesday in what is expected to be its final round of deliberations.

Its decision could be officially announced by Downing Street next week after being approved by the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Members have been sworn to secrecy for fear of leaks but the last few days have seen intense speculation about the likely choice of the next Archbishop.

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Comments by one of the frontrunners – the Bishop of Norwich Graham James – that he is “hoping and praying” that he does not get the job only served to shorten the odds offered on him being offered the job.

The group – which includes an archbishop, a handful of bishops, priests and academics and even a former winner of the television show the Krypton Factor – had been expected to pass its decision to Downing Street within days.

In a statement, it said: “The CNC is an elected, prayerful body.

“Its meetings are necessarily confidential to enable members to fulfil their important responsibilities for discerning who should undertake this major national and international role.

“Previous official briefings have indicated that an announcement is expected during the autumn and that remains the case; the work of the Commission continues.”

A Church source added: “This is saying ‘back off, we’ve got our own timetable’ ... you can probaby take from that that the decision isn't imminent."

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres – who once appeared to rule himself out - and the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, who chaired the Hillsborough Review – also emerged as strong contenders in the final days.

Meanwhile the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, remains the most high profile figure among the possible contenders.

But amid expectations that the next archbishop would come from the evangelical wing of the church there has been an intense focus on the Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth, and the Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby.